PRG1027 “Population structure, health and disease in Medieval Estonia through aDNA perspective (1.01.2021−31.12.2025)“, prof Kristiina Tambets, University of Tartu, Institute of Genomic

This project investigates the impact of the wide scale social upheaval brought by the Medieval period on the demographic history of Estonia by combining human and pathogen population genetics with anthropological and archaeological methods. The Medieval period (13th-16thcc AD) with its crusades, conquests, famines, large-scale epidemics and urbanisation brought along vast social and cultural changes. Although these events have been historically well-documented, their impact on the genetic structure and disease prevalence and manifestation in local populations remains unknown. This project will explore the effect of these societal changes on the genetic diversity and health status of the Medieval population through time and across cultural and socioeconomic contexts. The results will fill the last remaining gap in the Estonian population story from an ancient DNA perspective and open new avenues for the study of health and disease on a population-wide level.

PRG1290 “The grammar of discourse particles in Uralic (1.01.2021-31.12.2025)”,  prof Gerson Klumpp, University of Tartu, Institute of Estonian and General Linguistics

PUTJD926 “Continuity and change in Finnic language structure in the light of language contact. (1.03.2020−28.02.2023)”, Miina Norvik, University of Tartu, Institute of Estonian and General Linguistics

The aim of the project is to determine what kind of grammatical developments in Estonian and other Finnic languages can be attributed to contacts with Indo-European languages, and to compare the contact situations of different parts of the contact zone. For example, how does the contact between Livonian and Latvian differ from Veps-Russian or Finnish-Swedish contact. This study involves all the Finnic languages and dialects, and their main (historic) contact languages (Latvian, Russian, Swedish, German). The project is enabled by new large-scale language databases that also contain the Finnic languages. The results should reveal continuities and ruptures in the structural features of Finnic languages, allowing one to pinpoint the features that unite these languages, and the ones shaped more superficially by contacts. Ultimately, a more complete picture of the outcomes of contacts in the zone should emerge and enhance the profile of Finnic languages in comparative linguistic studies.

EKKD12 “The Ethnic History of Estonian Peoples in the light of new research (1.01.2019–31.11.2022)”, Mari Tõrv, University of Tartu, Institute of History and Archaeology

The Project „EREA II“ is about the core question of humanities – who we are and where we come from. “EREA II” will launch a unique digital platform to present the newest scientific results and critical synthesis about the ethnic history of Estonian peoples. This multi-disciplinary project assembles the data from archaeology, history, genetics, linguistics, folkloristics, ethnology and geography enabling more precise and versatile conclusions and generalisations to comprehend the processes behind the formation of Estonian peoples from the first inhabitants to time of rapid changes in 21st century. “EREA II” assembles the data available in different scientific/research collections, databases and archives through the presentation of new interpretations about the ethnic history of Estonian peoples and makes it accessible to the general public in Estonia and to the international scientific community.

PRG29 “Foreign vs local in Medieval and Modern Age foodways in the eastern Baltic: tracing the changing food consumption through provenance analyses (1.01.2018–31.12.2022)”, Lembi Lõugas and prof Valter Lang, University of Tartu, Institute of History and Archaeology

Archaeological and historical evidence show that food, especially seafood, was imported to the eastern Baltic since the Medieval period. Yet we lack a comprehensive understanding of the real extent and importance of imported food vs that of local origin. The surrounding marine and terrestrial environments would have certainly offered rich and diverse dietary resources to our ancestors, so why import seemingly similar food? This interdisciplinary project will explore foodways of people living in 13th-18th century Estonia and Latvia using spatiotemporal provenance analyses, and for the first time will combine natural scientific (fish, bird and animal skeletal remains as physical evidence of subsistence), anthropological (pathologies on the human skeleton caused by metabolic disorders and biochemistry of bone tissues as an indicator of the type and origin of diet), archaeological and written sources for a unified purpose.

PRG243 “Natural selection and migrations in shaping human genetic diversity in East European Plain. An ancient DNA study (1.01.2018–31.12.2022)”,  Mait Metspalu, University of Tartu, Estonian Biocentre

Recent developments in the field of ancient DNA are revolutionizing our understanding of the evolutionary and demographic processes that have shaped modern human genetic diversity and relationships between genes and phenotypic traits including disease. However, there is a big gap in aDNA sampling in the vast area of the East European Plain. Here we shall fill this gap by sequencing >400 aDNA samples together with relevant stable isotope analyses. This will enable us to reconstruct the complex population history not only from the genetic ancestry point of view but also shedding light on social structure and mobility, diet and health condition through the Mesolithic to Iron Age. We shall reveal the evolutionary paths of genetic variants associated with increased or decreased disease risk. These results will have direct impact on the theoretical basis of the developing Personalized Medicine in Estonia and the openness of the society as a whole.

PP1GI19936 “Population structure, health and disease in Medieval Estonia through aDNA perspective (7.08.2019−31.12.2020)“, prof Kristiina Tambets, University of Tartu, Institute of Genomic

This project concentrates on the demographic history of the Medieval time layer (13th- 16th cc AD) of the territory of Estonia using ancient DNA as a source of information. The Medieval period started in Estonia much later than in Central Europe and Scandinavia. The crusades and conquest brought along vast social, cultural and economical changes that also changed possibly the genetic structure of the local society. We will characterize the genetic diversity of the Medieval Estonian population and analyze individual and societal health status through description of the presence and frequency of pathogens as well as the composition of the oral microbiome, which gives us clues to understanding the history of present-day health problems in Estonia. The outcome of the project will be used for filling one of the remaining gaps in the synopsis of the Estonian population history and for opening new opportunities associated with the studies of health and diseases through the aDNA perspective.

PUT1217 “Temporal dynamics of population structure in the territory of present Estonia – synthesis of data from ancient and contemporary genomes (1.01.2016−31.12.2018)”, Kristiina Tambets, University of Tartu, Institute of Genomic

This project takes a qualitative step in our interdisciplinary effort to shed light on the demographic history of Estonians, making use of ancient DNA (aDNA) studies that are in the state of revolution at the moment. Based on our experience in human population genomics and archaeogenetics in general, and on our preliminary results in the planned work in particular, we will study aDNA of Estonian Neolithic human remains with a focus on Combed Ceramics and Corded Ware cultures, hopefully including Mesolithic as a baseline. We aim for genetic documentation of putative long-distance movements of humans in this part of Europe, their directionality and extent and role in shaping the present-day genetic variation. By sequencing even a few archaeologically well-characterized samples and comparing the results to our in-house extensive reference base of extant genetic variation in Eurasia, we will be able to reveal key moments in the genetic aspects of ethnogenesis of the Estonians.

IUT24-1 “The dawn of whole genomic era in archaeogenetics  2014–2019)”, prof Richard Villems, University of Tartu, Institute of Genomic

The research planned under this proposal is best classified as archaeogenetics: we wish to understand the genesis of the extant human genetic diversity. The “event horizon” of our research lies beyond the birth of anatomically modern humans (AMH) as a species, yet our main aim is to contribute to the genetic reconstruction, in space and time, of the colonization of the world by AMH by serial expansions and recessions, adaptations and admixture events. Our study draws ideas from, and we trust that also contributes to, archaeology and history in general, ethnology and linguistics, palaeoclimate research etc. It thus develops in an essentially trans-disciplinary environment, though remains methodologically a branch of population genetics. As such, it is tightly linked to the current trends in human genomics. We have been active in this field since late 90-ies. Here we plan a profound step ahead by establishing our archaeogenetic research on the basis of whole genome analysis.

IUT20-7 “Estonia in Circum-Baltic space: archaeology of economic, social, and cultural processes (2014–2019)”, prof Valter Lang, University of Tartu, Institute of History and Archaeology

This project is a continuation of earlier research of the Dep. of Archaeology at the University of Tartu. With regard to the Stone Age, the main objective is to study the primary settlement and the society of hunter-gatherers, the transition to the Neolithic package, the chronological limits of main pottery styles, the usage areas of pottery, the use of raw materials and exotic items. It will be necessary to study the causes of finds’ paucity in the Early Bronze Age, to analyse the chronology of stone-cist and tarand-graves on the basis of AMS dates made of skeletons, to study field systems and bronzework. In the Iron Age, one has to specify associations between the settlement pattern and the power centres and the dynamics of the power centres. Much attention will be paid to the Middle Ages and the Early Modern Age, less studied so far by archaeological means. General treatments on the Stone Age, Final Iron Age and Middle/Modern Ages will be published as the result of this project.